The district had an 11-point gain in the state’s Academic Performance Index, and its three comprehensive high schools made Newsweek magazine’s list of the top high schools in the United States in May, including San Pasqual at No. 282.

Two other North County high schools — Oceanside and El Camino — also are in Program Improvement and made Newsweek’s list of the nation’s top 6 percent of public high schools.

“It’s been a little bit of a roller-coaster ride for us since the beginning of the (school) year,” said Escondido high school district Superintendent Ed Nelson. “It’s unfortunate to have a label when people are working hard.”

Sharon von Maier, the district’s director of assessment and special programs, said federal and state accountability targets are different.

“You have to be mindful of both sets of targets,” von Maier said. “You can’t say, we’re just going to work on this and meet both of them, because that may not be the case.”

A school or district is placed in Program Improvement if it does not meet its federal Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, goals for two straight years. The goals are focused primarily on achievement in English-language arts and math.

For the high school district, the 10th-grade results of the California High School Exit Exam is one of the main criteria used to determine AYP. The district has targets to meet for a set of subgroups, categories based on demographics such as race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, English learners and students with disabilities.

San Pasqual entered Program Improvement status because not all subgroups reached the AYP target in English-language arts for 2009 and 2010, according to a letter — written on letterhead touting the campus as “A California Distinguished School” — sent to parents over the past two weeks. At Orange Glen, AYP targets were not met in English and math.

At San Pasqual, the language arts proficiency target was not met in the English learners subgroup. At Orange Glen, language arts and math proficiency targets were not met in Hispanic, socioeconomically disadvantaged and English learners subgroups.

AYP also considers the percentage of students taking the exit exam; whether the district made Academic Performance Index gains, which Escondido did; and graduation rates, which won’t be known until November.

“Not all of our subgroups are able to show they’re making the proficiency target set by federal government” on the California High School Exit Exam, von Maier said. “And subgroups not making it is not a surprise.”

According to 2008-09 district statistics, 56 percent of students are socioeconomically disadvantaged; 23 percent are English language learners; and 60 percent are Hispanic.

When a school goes into Program Improvement, parents can request a transfer to a non-Program Improvement school in the district. In Escondido, those are Escondido High and Valley High, the district’s continuation school.

The Academic Performance Index, or API, is a state measurement of a school’s progress. The goal for all schools is 800; the range is 200 to 1,000.

Von Maier said that overall, API scores rose in the district over last year. “Many of the things our district and schools have already put in place are working,” she said. “We have to be appreciative of hard work our teachers have done and success of our students.

“Our teachers are teaching their hearts out.”

The Escondido high school district’s API grew from 714 to 725. Orange Glen saw a 12-point API gain, from 687 to 699. San Pasqual saw an 11-point gain, from 767 to 778. Escondido High lost 2 points from, 726 to 724. Valley High had a 49-point API gain, from 465 to 514.

To address the Program Improvement status, the district and schools plan to take several steps, as well as continue with efforts that have shown progress.

Schools will increase prep classes for the exit exam and professional development for staff members. Teacher collaboration is another key area, Nelson said, so teachers can share what methods increase student achievement.

Parental involvement is also considered essential. Parent workshops are planned that will focus on helping students succeed.

“We’re going to try to instill in parents and students how important that is” to earn a proficient score on the exit exam, Nelson said.